Security articles, such as security documents and identification documents, are becoming increasingly important. Examples of identification documents include, but are not limited to, passports, driver's licenses, national ID cards, border crossing cards, security clearance badges, security cards, visas, immigration documentation and cards, gun permits, membership cards, phone cards, stored value cards, employee badges, debit cards, credit cards, and gift certificates and cards. Security articles may include personal identification information, which must be kept secure from tampering to ensure that counterfeiters or tamperers cannot produce counterfeit security articles or tamper with genuine security articles.
For example, passports include a biodata page that includes relevant personal information for the passport holder, including, for example, the passport holder's name, date of birth, photograph, etc. Increasingly, the biodata page is formed of polymer materials, such as polycarbonate. The biodata page may be printed or engraved with the passport holder's personal information and other relevant information. Additionally, the biodata page may include security features, such as radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, fluorescent dyes, surface structures (including graphics, text, diffractive elements, refractive elements, or the like), polarizing components, holograms, security printing such as rainbow guilloche or color-shifting inks, and the like, which increase the difficulty of modifying or replacing information carried by the biodata page by an unauthorized person without detection.
The biodata page may be incorporated into a passport document along with the other pages used to indicate where the passport holder has traveled. Under typical use conditions, a passport may be expected to last for up to 10 years or more.